


No Contest

by miss_aligned



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Mass Effect 3, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 08:56:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6847987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_aligned/pseuds/miss_aligned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's so charming and sweet and unexpected and she wanted to chastise herself for falling for him. She should have known better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Contest

She knew better than to carry fruitless hope in times like these. The galaxy was crumbling around them and her heart and mind were occupied by a man she had no right to even meet.

When he arrived, he’d been handled just like anyone else. His injuries were severe, but so were countless other victims of the Reapers flooding in from across all worlds. She’d learned that he was a rare breed of biotic, and she couldn’t help but be interested in learning more about his case. It had baffled and challenged the staff, but he’d somehow managed to pull through seemingly out of sheer will.

It started as mere curiosity. Certainly, she’d seen a number of marines move in and out of the facility, and they were known for toned physiques and dangerous allure. This was hardly the first time that she’d admired quietly from afar, but this one seemed so different from the others.

She’d been there when he first opened his eyes. Despite his injuries, the warmth of his gaze set her heart aflutter. She’d known right then and there that he was trouble. Even then she knew that her only salvation would be that he was just like countless other Alliance marines that thought obnoxiously highly of themselves. She had to assume that he was the type that knew he was gorgeous and tried to use it to his advantage.

But he didn’t. He was always kind and polite. Despite his pain, he rarely complained. She was almost angry at him for being so unbearably sweet. Surely he had something to hide. He had to be some sort of cretin. He was somehow keeping his issues and baggage well hidden. It was only a matter of time before the drugs wore off and his true personality would show.

She had unknowingly begun checking herself in the reflection of the many windows of the building before she entered his room. She consulted the time religiously, almost counting the minutes before he’d need to be checked or have his medications administered. Her touch lingered on his skin for a second longer than absolutely necessary when she was making her rounds, and she couldn’t seem to stop herself from doing it.

How strange it seemed that this delightful man hardly ever had visitors. She wondered if he’d lost his loved ones on earth. What sorts of friends and family they might have been… and if there had been a spouse in the mix. He needed more time to recover and for them to get to know one another outside the bounds of patient and medical care professional, she decided, before she would delve into those sorts of questions. She was eager to learn more of his past, his passions, and his hopes for the future.

The only time he seemed distracted when they were pleasantly chatting was if an update hit the extranet regarding the progress of the war. She didn’t think anything of it, as it was a true concern for everyone, even those who weren’t soldiers. It was the only time his attention wavered, and he always apologized for the perceived rudeness of the intrusion. She didn’t mind.

Certainly, she’d thought long and hard about the situation when she’d heard rumor that he’d briefly dated one of the other staff members. The moment she’d walk into the room and a smile crept across his face, however, she forgot all else. She tried to convince herself that the infatuation was fleeting and harmless, but the more time went on, the stronger her feelings were for the charming officer with apparently famous friends.

This morning, when she’d arrived for her shift, the hospital was all abuzz with the arrival of the Normandy and her crew to the Citadel. She smiled, knowing that it was the frigate he’d been haphazardly assigned to before he’d arrived at the hospital. She assumed that he would have visitors, but nothing had prepared her for the scene she’d stumbled upon when she’d made her way in the direction of his room.

A woman stood at his bedside, and, thanks to the hospital’s many windows, she caught a glimpse well before she might have entered. There wasn’t a human alive who wouldn’t recognize her, even if she hadn’t been wearing the distinctive stripe and logo down her sleeve. She was leaning close to him, holding his hand gently in her own as they quietly talked. An unexpected pang of jealousy hit just then, an urging to move forward to interrupt the exchange.

The look in his eyes as she marched closer to the door, however, gave her pause. Her gaze flicked from his face to that of Commander Shepard, and she instantly knew. There had been no hope from the beginning. Sweet as he was, there was no chance that he would have acknowledged anyone other than the woman at his side. It was written all over his visage. He was devoted to her and there was no mistaking it.

She pressed her datapad closer to her chest, as though it would help stem the heartbreak she was feeling at that moment. She turned and hurried away, chastising herself for that silly hope she’d had no right to foster in the first place.

How could she expect to compete with the first human Spectre? The Savior of the Citadel? The Defeater of Collectors? The Hero of the Galaxy? No one could.

She was out of the game even before she thought she had a chance to play.


End file.
